Origin Energy chief executive Frank Calabria confirms 900,000 accounts hacked
Origin Energy chief executive Frank Cabria has confirmed 900,000 accounts of past and present customers were hacked last week.
Origin Energy has confirmed 900,000 accounts of past and present customers were hacked last week.
Chief executive Frank Calabria confirmed the number of affected customers on Tuesday morning, six days after telling the Australian Securities Exchange about unauthorised access to data.
“We have now completed the initial phase of our review into Origin’s customer data security incident,” he said in a media statement.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“At this point in time, we believe the information of approximately 900,000 current and former customers was accessed.
“To our customers, I am sorry. We don’t take for granted the trust customers place in Origin and our safeguarding of their information.”
Origin’s share price plunged by 1.7 per cent to $10.47 during late Tuesday morning trade, with the drop more dramatic than the overall decline of energy stocks on the ASX.
Mr Calabria has yet to confirm whether one of Australia’s biggest utility companies paid a ransom to an alleged hacker.
“Importantly, this is a criminal matter that is subject to an ongoing investigation by the relevant authorities, and given this, we are constrained by the level of information we can provide about the incident at this time,” he said.
While Origin notified the ASX on July 22, Mr Calabria confirmed it was aware of a threat several weeks earlier.
“Since early July, Origin had been reviewing a potential security threat. We worked to confirm its credibility and potential impact; however, based on the information available, it was not assessed to be credible,” he said.
“On 22 July, new information emerged that indicated a potential security incident may have occurred. We acted immediately, providing updates to the market and notifying our customers as a precaution.”
Origin is advising its more than 4.7 million customers with electricity, gas and internet accounts to be wary of unexpected calls, emails or texts referring to an Origin account.
“We are acutely aware that others may exploit this incident, including by impersonating Origin or through other scam activity,” Mr Calabria said.
“We recommend that all our customers remain vigilant to suspicious activity and a heightened risk of scams.”
